style.com: Rachel Comey Fall 2012 Ready-to-Wear review

Rachel Comey
NEW YORK, February 8, 2012By Alison Baenen
“Normally for Fall we dive into print and pattern and color,” Rachel Comey said over the phone the day before her show. “This time, I pulled all of that out and cleared the air.” Comey girls, take a deep breath: The charmingly off-kilter quality that characterizes the designer’s work is still in evidence, but a new straightforwardness lent a maturity to the new collection. Classic silhouettes came in neutral shades, and a parade of LBDs finished the show.

With prints taking less of a starring role, Comey sprang for fabrics from specialty mills and called on unusual fabric treatments to take their place. Perforated cotton and wool felt—hole-punched with a laser—lent a lightness to tops and bodices, while the shiny plastic finish on a sexy, full-skirted dress provided the right kick of Comey quirk. The few prints and jolts of color, like a nubbly coat in caution orange and a dress covered in attenuated hearts in shocking pink, were swift visual punches that landed. Aside from a few unflattering sack silhouettes, this collection was solidly retail-friendly, a boon given that Comey revealed that she expanded on the higher end of her price point this season (see: those specialty mills). As the designer’s vision matures, it follows that her customers will grow with her; if not, there was plenty here to entice a new crop of sophisticated admirers.